Trials and Tribulations
by Mycha
Summary: When Robin is attacked, what will the team do? What kind of revenge will be plotted? Rated for language and implied violence. [COMPLETED]
1. Chapter 1

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Witch Hunter Robin or any of their characters. This story is for fun, not for profit.

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Chapter 1 

He leaned against the cold window frame, watching the passing of people below on the soggy streets of Tokyo. He both loved and hated it when it rained. Loved because the somber dreariness fit his mood. Hated because it was annoying to actually be in. He found a sort of evil pleasure sitting where he was and watching the people scurry around as if their speed would help them to stay dry.

"Amon..." Annoyed, the brooding man left his thoughts to glare at the young IT guy.

Michael visibly gulped. It was obvious that Amon hadn't been paying attention to the conversation. It was also obvious that he was not happy at having his thoughts interrupted.

"Uh... have you heard from Robin? She seems to be running **really** late today..." Michael's voice trailed off as he realized that she was actually only about 20 minutes late, based off of the office's normal start time. It just **seemed** late to him since Robin had made a habit of arriving more than an hour earlier than anyone else.

"She's not answering her phone and no one is answering at her apartment," Karasuma interjected, attempting to bring the glare of death away from the teen.

Amon took a deep breath in a direct attempt to calm his nerves. He knew she was late and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had awoken in the middle of the night with a jarring feeling that something had happened, but no idea what. He had shaken off the feeling, but the longer she was absent, the more his brain wanted to connect the two incidents.

"What time did she leave last night, Michael?" Amon asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible. He knew that their youngest hunter tended to visit in the middle of the night in her own attempt to do something nice for Michael. When Amon had originally found out about her late night excursions, he had wanted to lecture her to no end about the foolishness of a woman walking alone at night. He hadn't, though. He wasn't even sure if she knew that he knew about her late night activities. Regardless, he had been sure that with her craft, she would be fine and his lecture would be foolish at best. Now he was having doubts about that decision.

Michael paled. Chewing on his lip, he blushed before looking down at his feet and mumbling, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Amon could hear the chill in his own voice. Noticing the hacker's flinch, he presumed everyone else could, too.

"I... I guess I fell asleep. When I woke up, she was gone."

_'Amon's going to kill me,'_ Michael thought to himself. He knew that Amon didn't like Robin to come over as late as she did. He had even told Michael as much and that the boy should discourage her late night visits. Selfishly, he had convinced himself that the hunter was jealous of the attention she bestowed on him. Michael knew it was actually compassion and friendship that brought the young blond to visit him, but he liked the childish feeling of having something that the foreboding man didn't. Now, though, he had to face the reality that Amon likely wasn't jealous but was afraid that some sort of harm could come to the beautiful young girl. The thought that this could somehow be his fault made the young geek feel ill.

Amon simply glared at Michael. He desperately wanted to strangle the teen, but knew that he had to keep his calm. It wasn't really his fault that Robin was missing. Just as the eldest hunter was about to speak again, his phone rang.

——— 

Sighing angrily, he answered with a curt "Hello".

Robin had debated for some time who to call – Karasuma or Amon. It would be easier to talk to the brunette hunter whom she had grown to think of almost like an older sister. It would be horribly embarrassing to approach her harsher partner with the situation, to put it mildly. At the same time, she knew she would have to face him at some point. As much as she wanted to not say anything to anyone, she had to get a ride home and knew that whoever got her would ask questions.

Finally, practicality won. It would be hardest to tell Amon. She wasn't sure how many times she would be able to tell the story, and she knew her partner would make her tell him. If he knew, no one else would have to ask. Knowing this, she called him. She might as well get it over with.

As soon as she heard his low, unemotional voice on the other end of the connection, she regretted her decision. Although it was only a little edgier than normal, it scared her enough that she almost dropped the phone. She was seriously thinking about hanging up when he spoke again, the annoyance of having to say 'Hello' twice obvious in his tone.

"Amon?" she hesitantly responded, even softer than she normally was.

——— 

Amon blinked in surprise when he finally heard Robin's voice on the other line.

"Robin? Where are you?" The dark hunter schooled his voice back to its normal dispassionate cadence. He had heard the hesitance and fear in her voice. As much as it concerned him, he was bound and determined not to let it show to her or their coworkers.

At the sound of Robin's name, the other four people in the room turned to look at their leader. A brief look of relief crossed everyone's face.

"I knew we were worried about nothing," Sakaki muttered under his breath. "With her powers, no one could fuck with her and live to tell about it." Doujima giggled and nodded her agreement.

Karasuma had caught the brief twitch in Amon's eye after he had asked where Robin was. It was one of the few signs that indicated the otherwise expressionless man was explicitly hiding something.

"I'll be right there." Before Amon had turned off the phone, he was already headed for the elevator. As he passed his desk, he grabbed his trench coat and put it on in one fluid motion without even slowing down.

"Amon?" Karasuma called after her swiftly moving coworker. "Where's Robin?"

He paused briefly before tersely responding, "I'm going to get her." With that, he disappeared down the stairs, leaving Michael and the rest of the hunters to look questioningly at each other.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Most of the story is done, so the rest should be here shortly. R&R please! 


	2. Chapter 2

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own WHR or any of it's characters (drats!)

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Amon zoomed to his destination, mildly realizing that he likely scared others on the road as he zipped in and out of lanes. He was unconcerned. He knew what both he and the car were capable of, and he was in too much of a hurry to care. His mind was elsewhere. He hadn't thought of anything but getting to his frightened partner once he heard her voice. Now he was plagued by the 'whys' that he hadn't asked. Annoyed with himself, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he parked his car. 

In a swirl of black he strode purposefully into the hospital and straight to the reception desk.

"I'm here to pick up Robin Sena."

Upon seeing the handsome, tall man, the young nurse became flustered. Fumbling through the files in front of her, she was just about to tell him to wait so that she could find them when an older nurse handed a set of charts to the younger one. Glancing at the name, she belatedly realized that these were the files she was looking for.

"She's finishing up with the doctor. She should be out shortly. Please, have a seat until then," the older nurse explained before giving the younger one a look of exasperation. Unamused, Amon did as instructed, ignoring the furtive glances of the now blushing younger nurse.

With an annoyed sigh, he sat down at the first chair he found. Amon didn't even bother looking around the waiting area. Instead, he simply crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. Though his appearance suggested that he was trying to sleep, the hunter was actually very awake and keenly listening to what was going on around him. He just found that he could focus on listening better if he shut his eyes.

"Are Sena's records out here?" The voice sounded like that of a middle-aged man. Someone's child started screaming right then, preventing Amon from hearing the response.

"This needs to go with the rape kit," was the next thing Amon heard from the reception area.

_Rape kit? Were they still talking about Robin?_ It had been the man's voice again. Outwardly there was no indication that Amon had heard a thing. Inside, though, was another story as he felt his chest tighten. Quickly he pushed the emotions and thoughts away and continued listening.

The hunter didn't move, seeming to be asleep to anyone who saw him, until he heard her soft footsteps coming down the hall. How he knew they belonged to his petite young partner, he couldn't have explained, but he did. Almost instantly, he opened his eyes and raised his head to look directly at her. What the normally reserved man saw shocked him enough that it actually showed on his face briefly before he put his normal dispassionate mask back into place.

Robin didn't see his reaction. She was barely looking forward enough to make sure she didn't run into anyone. For once in her life the young girl actually felt her age. She feared what Amon would say when he saw her. All of the rationality and maturity that made people forget that she was barely 16 was gone. She knew she looked horrible. Her face was covered with bruises and cuts. Her hands were scraped up rather badly. The rest of her was just as badly battered, but the baggy clothes the hospital had given her covered all of that up. They had kept her clothes as evidence.

"Robin."

She briefly looked up at the man in front of her before looking away again. If her appearance hadn't already confirmed his suspicions, the look of fear and humiliation in her eyes did.

"Are you ready to go?" He knew he sounded distant. He couldn't help it. At least the anger he felt surging just under the surface didn't come out. He was definitely not angry at her, but in her current state she likely would have interpreted it as such.

She nodded her head slightly, unsure how to read her partner.

Amon held his hand out to her. She looked at it and realized that he wasn't mad at her. Silently he was trying to show he cared. The gesture sparked a very small light in her, but there was so much darkness at the moment that it was almost snuffed out instantly. Hesitantly she reached to take his hand then pulled back, unable to cross that line just yet.

"I'm sorry," she barely whispered, a tear escaping her eye to silently slip down her cheek.

"It's ok. Come on." With that, Amon turned to walk to the door, consciously keeping his hand out of his pocket in case she changed her mind.

The drive back to Robin's apartment was quiet and uneventful. Both hunters were lost in their own thoughts, both trying to keep their emotions at bay.

Amon parked at her building and got out. Robin didn't even realize where they were until Amon opened the door for her. Dazed, she got out of the car and followed him up to her place. She never even realized that she had opened the door and both hunters had entered.

Amon had no idea what to do. When they had gotten to her apartment, Robin went straight to her room and shut the door. Unwilling to invade that space, he let her be. He'd been in the apartment often enough before Robin came that he knew were to find things. Silently, he prepared a pot of kukicha tea and called Karasuma.

——— 

"Amon, how's Robin?" The youngest hunter had been on Miho's mind all morning. She knew that Amon would check in at some point, but she had gotten more impatient with each moment that had passed. The rest of the team immediately turned their heads at the mention of their leader's name and moved to chairs close to the tall brunette, waiting more or less patiently for news on the youngest team member.

Karasuma gasped loudly, eyes going wide as she covered her mouth at something that was said.

"Ok, let me know if you need anything," she finally said, her concern obvious, before she closed her phone.

"Well?" Sakaki prodded when his partner continued to stare wordlessly at her phone.

"She's safe now. Amon has her." Regaining her composure, she looked at the three pairs of worried eyes before continuing. "He doesn't know what happened yet."

"But he has his suspicions," Michael interjected.

Karasuma nodded. "To quote Amon, 'Someone beat the hell out of her.' But that's all he knows for sure. She hasn't said anything."

The resulting emotions on everyone else's faces would have been comical if the subject wasn't so serious, Karasuma thought. Sakaki was probably the angriest she had seen him to date. Doujima just simply looked lost, obviously not sure what to do. Michael looked crestfallen.

"It's not your fault," she said, placing a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. Michael nodded and smiled weakly at Karasuma before turning back around to resume typing.

——— 

After some time, Robin finally came out of her room and headed straight for the kitchen. Amon caught her before she made her coffee.

"Drink the tea. It will be more calming."

Robin honestly wanted her espresso, knowing that the caffeine would help her stave off the sleep she feared would be tormented with images from the attack. Amon's tone allowed for no discussions on the matter, so she did as she was told.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Robin flinched at the coldness of her partner's voice. She knew it was a silly response. It was his normal, cold, aloof style. She glanced up at him briefly before returning her gaze to her tea. Amon waited patiently as the young blond fidgeted. He could wait days for a witch to move, he was certain he could out wait the girl sitting across the table from him.

After several false starts, she finally answered in a small, soft voice. "I was attacked this morning on my way back from Raven's Flat."

Amon didn't respond, silently telling the craft user to go on. She took a deep steadying breath. Robin was finding it much harder to tell this to her male partner than she had though it would be. Robin briefly wished that he had the ability to read minds so that he could find out for himself.

"I was raped," she finally got out, her voice barely above a whisper as she fought to not start crying again.

The normally reserved hunter found he wanted to reach out and comfort the quivering girl. Unsure what to actually do, he moved to sit closer to her. Cautiously, he put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the brief flinch she made at his touch.

"It's going to be ok, Robin," he attempted to soften his voice as he spoke. "We'll get through this."

Robin dared to turn her tear streaked face up to him. A small glimmer of hope in her eyes before she looked back down at her tea.

"Don't," he softly commanded, placing a hand under her chin and turning her face so that he could look into her eyes. "And yes, I said 'we'." Amon didn't know what he would be doing, but she was his partner. Though he wasn't prepared to tell her yet, she meant a lot more to him than just that.

Unable to hold her emotions back any longer, Robin covered her face with her hands and began to sob uncontrollably.

Amon had no idea how long they sat in the kitchen with Robin crying and him sitting helplessly beside her. After what felt like hours, she finally stopped. He was able to convince her to move to the couch where, within minutes, she was asleep. Once Amon was sure she was sleeping soundly, he quietly left her apartment double checking the lock before he went.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully I didn't creep anyone out with this one... R&R please! ) 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

No one at Raven's Flat was working. Doujima, as usual, was flipping through a fashion magazine. Michael and Sakaki were playing some game at Sakaki's computer. Karasuma tried to go through old files, but couldn't concentrate on any of it.

At the sound of the elevator, everyone turned towards it. A collective inhale of air could be heard as they saw their dark leader exit the cage and stride into the office. Ignoring the looks of his coworkers, he went straight to his desk and started to gather his things, including the stacks of paperwork that had accumulated there.

"So...?" Sakaki finally asked, impatiently.

Amon paused in his work, staring at his desk a moment before he turned and leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest.

"Robin was raped," he finally responded in his cold, dispassionate voice. The room gasped, both from the taciturn hunter's bluntness as well as from the statement itself.

"But how...?" Michael stammered, obviously confused.

Amon merely raised his hand by way of interruption. "I don't know. I don't know why she didn't protect herself with her craft. I don't know when or where it exactly happened. I **do** know that she's currently asleep at her apartment. She took herself to the hospital and told them what had happened to her. She's scared, and I'm not going to force her to say anything." Amon looked intensely at each of his coworkers, making sure that they understood what he had said.

"Michael," he continued, startling the young hacker. "She went to the hospital. See if you can get her records. Doujima, go to the police and see if you can get their report. The doctors, at least, would have been required to notify them. If you can't get them, go to Chief Kosaka and see if he can get anything done. Sakaki, see what information you can find that might tell us where and why this happened.

"I want to be kept informed of anything you find. When we know where it happened, Karasuma and I will go check it out."

"You know, Robin would be able to answer a lot of this," Doujima interrupted. "And besides, what are you going to do?"

Amon gave the flighty blond one of the coldest glares he could. "I'm not forcing her to say anything. If she tells me anything, I'll pass it on." With that, he grabbed his stuff and stormed out of the office, hoping to get back to Robin's place before she woke up.

——— 

She hissed softly at the pain she felt throughout her body. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but knew that something wasn't right. As her sleep addled mind began to clear, she remembered what had happened.

She had been walking home from a late night visit with Michael. She had taken her normal route, but last night something had been different. A few blocks from the office she got the distinct feeling that someone was following her. She had looked around but couldn't find anyone. Robin picked up her pace, hoping that the fear that gripped her was unjustified. She turned to check behind her again, but this time when she turned back, she saw someone step out of a side alley.

"Where do you think you're running to, Sweetheart?" the man sneered.

She turned to flee in the other direction, only to find two more men right behind her. When the first grabbed her, she screamed.

Robin sat bolt upright, covered in sweat. She panted, trying to catch her breath. The dream in a dream had been all too vivid and her body was reacting now the same way it had when she had originally been attacked.

As she slowly calmed down, she began to look around her and realized that she was on the couch of her apartment. It was dark in the room except for one light in the kitchen. Looking towards it, she was surprised to find Amon watching her from the table, his laptop and paperwork strewn out in front of him.

"You're still here?" The somewhat dazed girl was surprised to find him there, and right where she last remembered him being. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Several hours."

She nodded her blond head dumbly as she shuffled over to the kitchen and got herself a cup of coffee. She sat in the chair opposite Amon, pulling her knees to her chest and propping her chin on them.

"Want to tell me about the dream?"

"It's about the attack," she all but whispered, turning to hid her face in her knees.

"Robin." The elder hunter waited for the younger to look up at him. "It's not your fault."

"I didn't use my craft."

"Why not?"

"If I would have used it, this might not have happened," Robin continued, not even registering that Amon had said anything.

"Why didn't you use your craft?" Amon fought to keep his voice as neutral as possible, though he wanted to shake the girl silly. She was right, had she used it, none of this would have happened.

Robin didn't answer at first, she merely sat and tried to pull herself into a smaller ball.

"I was afraid," she finally whispered. Her companion arched an eyebrow. "We weren't on a hunt. I was afraid if I fought back with my craft, I'd be hunted. They'd label me a Witch and I'd be hunted." The last was so soft Amon could barely hear it.

To say he was floored by her comment was an understatement, though no one would have known from the impassiveness of his face. Even while being terrorized, she had stayed level headed enough to think about the ramifications of her actions. It also left a bad taste in his mouth. She was right. This fragile, frightened little bird in front of him would have been labeled a Witch and hunted within the week if she had used her fire in any way to protect herself. It was an unsettling thought.

Amon didn't say anything in response. He briefly wondered if he should, but was rescued from the need by his phone ringing.

Robin withdrew into herself and didn't pay attention to Amon's call until she heard him say, "I'll be right there." She looked up at him, sadness etched into her features.

"Robin, I have to go. We have a lead on a case." Amon found he didn't want to leave her alone. His reserved nature didn't allow him to say that though. "Karasuma has offered for you to stay with her, if you wish. Or you can stay with me if you want." _'Now, what made me say __**that**?'_ he wondered.

"Thank you, Amon. I'll be ok." She tried to sound more confident than she felt.

"Touko is going to be gone for the rest of the week. You'll be alone. Are you sure?"

Robin thought for a moment. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone, but she didn't want to be any more of a burden to anyone than she already was.

"I'll be fine."

Amon didn't like her response, but he wasn't going to argue.

"Fine. Call me if you need anything or change your mind."

Robin didn't move as she passively watched her partner grab his work and leave.

——— 

By the time Amon got to the alley, Karasuma and Sakaki were already there.

"Man, what a place to be looking for clues," Sakaki moaned. "Are we sure this is the spot? I'm not seeing anything that looks like it was set on fire."

"You won't. She didn't use it," Amon replied icily, causing Sakaki to jump.

"Don't scare me like that! You aren't supposed to sneak up on **us**." Sakaki tried to cover his surprise with indignation, causing Karasuma to have to stifle a giggle.

"Why didn't she use her craft?" the female hunter asked after regaining control of her giggles.

Ignoring the question, Amon looked carefully through the alley. The police might be good, but he knew the hunters were better at investigating crime scenes.

"Karasuma, come here." Amon knelt down as he spoke, having seen a piece of black cloth on the ground. He was carefully removing the debris that had accumulated around it. "What can you sense here?"

"I hope you haven't been using that tone with Robin," Karasuma replied softly as she knelt down beside the man. Closing her eyes, Karasuma took her glove off and touched the ground. She concentrated on the emotions she felt.

"Fear, a lot of fear. Anticipation, lust, greed, revenge." Karasuma blinked a moment, before turning to Amon. Her face paled as she put the pieces together in her head.

"The fear was Robin. The rest came from the others." Amon arched his eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "There were at least two others," she continued. She watched with apprehension as her leader's eyes took a stormy, menacing glint to them.

"Karasuma-san, Amon, come take a look at this!" Sakaki called. He had wondered further down the alley and into one of the recesses. He didn't know why he had, it was simply a gut instinct. The alcove was a small, dark little area, but it was obvious that there had been a struggle here recently.

Amon stared at the ground for some time while Sakaki and Karasuma looked around the area. Purposefully, he walked to a place against the wall, carefully scanning it for whatever clues might be there. Spotting something that looked to be blood, he called to his coworkers.

"Karasuma, scry here," he commanded harshly. She bristled at his tone but didn't say anything, and shot a glance at Sakaki, warning her partner to stay quiet as well. She could feel the anger and tension coming off of Amon and didn't want to make it worse.

Tentatively, she reached for the wall. She gasped and pulled away just before touching it. The emotions were so strong she had to mentally prepare herself. Sakaki knelt beside his older partner, a look of worry crossing his normally cheerful face.

"Fear and pain – Robin again. Lust. Greed. Revenge. Gratification. There were two or three different people besides Robin, and they enjoyed what they were doing." The woman swallowed hard at the last part. This is where it had happened, she was positive.

"Revenge." Amon was pondering that one. The others didn't surprise him, but why would someone feel revenge when dealing with Robin?

"You think this was where..." Sakaki began softly, unable to continue his sentence. His partner merely nodded sadly.

"Michael," Amon's low voice broke the silence as he contacted the IT guru.

"Yeah, Amon?"

"Can you pinpoint exactly where we are?"

After a brief pause, he responded. "Yeah."

"Good. This is where Robin was actually raped. The original coordinates where where she was first attacked. I want you to see if there are any surveillance cameras around and between these two areas that might have picked up anything."

"I'm on it."

Amon snapped the communicator shut and turned on his heel to go back to his car.

"Hey!" Sakaki yelled after him. "Where are you going?"

——— 

"Get some sleep. We have a lot of work tomorrow," was his only response.

The dark brooding man paced back and forth in the small apartment. He had already been through his normal list of sources and hadn't found anything helpful. Michael hadn't called yet either, so he presumed that meant that the hacker was coming up empty as well. That left him with one last resource. As much as he hated to admit to it, he hoped that he might be able to get some help here.

He heard the door unlock and, luckily, only one person enter.

"Shit, Amon," the man yelled in surprise before taking off his fluffy white coat. Nagira was actually surprised to see his half brother.

"How did you get in here?" The brothers were not particularly close. He was mildly amused to find that Amon even knew where he lived.

"Picked your lock," came Amon's terse response.

"Ah, and you, Otouto, I see are as happy and chipper as usual," the elder brother tried to tease. The glare Amon gave told Nagira that this wasn't the time for humor.

"So," Nagira began as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "To what do I owe your cheery visit?"

Grinding his teeth together, Amon growled, "I need your help."

Nagira merely raised his eyebrows. Rarely did Amon directly ask Nagira for help. When he did, it was usually out of desperation.

"I need information. My partner was attacked. It looks like its for revenge, but we have no idea why."

"This the girl with the amazing green eyes?"

Amon glared in response. He knew he would regret telling his brother about that. _'Mental note: don't drink to drunkenness with Nagira.'_

Nagira merely chuckled. "Fine, Amon. Tell me what you know."

——— 

Michael was getting frustrated. He had found one security camera in the whole area. It was pointed at the entryway to the alley, but there was no indication of anyone entering or exiting from that end. The other end didn't seem to have any that he could tap into. Sakaki and Doujima went back to the area to see if he could find any that Michael hadn't been able to tap into at the office. The two hunters even started asking people if they had seen or heard anything strange in the area over the past several days.

"Michael," Sakaki's voice came over the com system.

"Yeah?"

"Doujima found someone who has a web cam that watches this area. What would you need us to get for that?"

Michael blinked in surprise. This was an unbelievably lucky find. Maybe things were looking up.

* * *

definitions:  
otouto – little brother, usually in an affectionate way 


	4. Chapter 4

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Witch Hunter Robin. Sorry.

* * *

Robin paced her apartment. Every time she had fallen asleep, her dreams plagued her. She desperately needed it, she knew, but she couldn't handle the replays of the attack. Being alone in her apartment wasn't helping matters either. When she heard the knock at the door, she panicked. She stopped her pacing and stared wide eyed at the door, hugging herself as she shook. 

"Robin. Let me in," came Amon's deep voice from the other side.

For her part, Robin released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She crept to the door, not sure she could believe her ears. Tentatively, she opened it to find her brooding partner on the other side. Without thinking, the frightened, sleep-deprived girl threw open the door and wrapped her arms around the man. Amon was surprised. Worse, he didn't know how to respond. He finally followed his initial instinct and wrapped his arms around her petite frame.

"So, are you going to let me in, or shall we stay out here in the hallway?" the dark hunter asked dryly, eliciting a soft giggle from the girl.

She pulled back and invited him in. Amon looked his young partner over critically. "You didn't sleep, did you?"

Robin briefly thought about lying, but she knew he was too perceptive for her to get away with it. She shook her head as she went to the kitchen to get yet another cup of coffee. Amon followed her. Reaching over her head, he took the cup from her and began to drink it himself. She sighed and started to get another cup for herself, not noticing the humorous smirk her partner had momentarily.

"I think you've had enough. Go get ready for work."

Robin gasped, turning to look at her partner in shock.

"Amon, I can't..."

"Robin, you can. Get dressed unless that's what you are going to wear." He was purposely being cold and expressionless. Internally he was concerned. He wasn't sure if it was the near panic he could see in her eyes when he first arrived or his personal desire to keep tabs on her, but Amon didn't want to leave here here by herself. He had worried about her most of the night and what he saw in her now didn't lessen that worry.

"Please, Amon. I can't face everyone. I..."

"Robin." He gave her a stern glare that told her he wasn't going to back down. She sighed resignedly and went to her room.

"Do I have time for a bath?"

"You have one hour. The we leave, regardless of if you are ready or not." He smiled into his coffee when he heard an "eep!" and the quickened footsteps of the young hunter.

——— 

Robin was **not** comfortable. She didn't like the fact that Amon was making her go to the office, and the closer they got, the more nervous she became. She didn't want to have to explain anything. Her companion had promised she didn't have to, but how could she not? If nothing else, they would at least ask about her bruises. How could they not? She was more black and blue today than she had been yesterday. To make matters worse, she wanted out of her dress – **now**. It seemed to pull on every cut and push on every bruise she had. Worse, though, it was an exact duplicate of the one she had been wearing when she was attacked. It had actually been emotionally painful to put it on, but she didn't have anything else to wear to work.

Amon looked over at his fidgeting partner. He knew initially she would not want to be at work. From what he had seen and heard from the rest of the team, however, she **needed** to be there. She needed to see that everyone cared for and worried about her. He had been surprised, actually, by their reactions. Michael was trying to take the blame for the attack. The boy wasn't much better at hiding his emotions than Robin was, so it was rather obvious. Sakaki was fuming, it seemed, and was unable to even sit still in the office for more than a few minutes. Doujima was distressed by the whole situation. It was obvious in her eyes, though she tried to pretend that everything was normal.

Karasuma, though, was in a completely different ballpark. Amon would never have guessed it, but it seemed the older woman looked at Robin like her younger sister, or even her child. He had already received two lectures from her about how to treat Robin – most notably for him to try not to be so cold – in the last 24 hours. Robin didn't realize it, but somehow she had turned this team into a family.

——— 

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, but Robin didn't budge. Amon held the door open but she remained where she was, silently shaking. He put his hand on her back to quietly nudge her towards the door, but the girl was not going to move.

"Robin." His voice was quiet but stern. She looked up at him, almost pleading. He responded with a slight shake of the head. "It's ok."

Tentatively she walked out of the lift, keeping her eyes downcast. _'How could anyone here not be disgusted by her?'_ she kept thinking. For a brief moment, everything fell into a stunned silence. Robin clasped her hands in front of herself, quietly wishing she were back at her lonely apartment. Then the moment was past. Doujima jumped out of her seat and ran over to give the younger woman a hug until Robin let out a squeak from the pressure.

"Oh, Robin! I'm so glad you're ok. We were all so worried about you!" the ditzy blond gushed. Robin smiled a small smile into her shoulder, hugging her friend back.

Michael was about to follow Doujima's example, but when he went to Robin, her eyes got wide in fear as she stepped back. A brief look of hurt flitted across his face. "For once, I have to agree with Doujima," he said, obviously not liking that fact. "We are going to catch this guy, though. I promise."

That was all it took for the others in the office to welcome Robin back. After everyone finally settled down again and got back to work, Doujima moved over to sit next to Robin.

"Robin, if there is anything that I can do for you, please tell me," the young woman said, startling Robin with her sincerity. "This should never have happened, especially not to you."

"Thank you." Robin gave her a small smile, just before her eyes clouded a moment in thought. "Actually, Doujima," Robin leaned closer to the other blond hunter. "Would you be willing to go buy me some clothes?"

Doujima blinked, looking at Robin, dumbfounded. "Did I hear you right?"

"Yes. I need something besides this to wear to work. I just want to be out of this dress."

"That's not the dress..."

"No, but is a duplicate and it makes my skin crawl to be wearing it."

——— 

"Come on, Robin," Doujima cheerfully called as soon as she got off the elevator, arms loaded with shopping bags. Everyone glanced over at their ever-absent hunter, wondering what she was up to now. They were surprised when Robin got up and immediately followed her to the woman's locker room. They all glanced at one another, no one really knowing what was going on. Shrugging, Karasuma got up to see what the other two females were doing.

"... I went conservative and dark colors, but anything you don't like can go back." Doujima sounded serious, but when Karasuma walked in the younger woman looked to be bouncing with excitement.

"Do I dare ask?" Karasuma interrupted, looking dubiously at the two.

"Robin decided that this dress has too many bad memories, so it has to go. But before we can be rid of it, we have to replace it."

Karasuma couldn't help but smile. Doujima looked so serious as she spoke but sounded so much like a little kid. Robin glanced over blushing slightly.

"Is that ok?" Robin asked, softly, somehow feeling that the older woman would disapprove.

"I think it's a wonderful idea!"

——— 

When the women came out of the locker room, giggling, the guys all immediately looked up.

"Hey, what were you guys doing in there? Playing dress-up?" Sakaki joked.

"Yep, exactly," was Karasuma's reply. Sakaki and Michael looked at each other, wondering what was going on and answered each other with a shrug. Amon merely raised an eyebrow as he watched the women.

Karasuma was wondering around looking for something under the desks. Robin had changed clothes and was now wearing an ankle length black straight skirt and a long charcoal sweater with a black belt. She was holding a rather large bundle of black cloth. Doujima brought several of the bags out and placed them by Robin's desk.

"Found it!" Karasuma yelled from a different part of the office. She walked back to where Robin was standing with a metal trash can.

Now the women had the full attention of the men, who were beginning to wonder if their coworkers had been drinking. Even Kosaka and Hattori came out to see what was going on. Robin dumped her bundle in the trash can and started to walk away when Doujima stopped her.

"Hold on. If we're getting rid of the dress then these should go too!" she exclaimed, grabbing one of Robin's pigtails. Karasuma, realizing what Doujima was going after, took the other pigtail and both women unwrapped Robin's hair and threw the ribbons into the trash can as well. Robin walked back to her desk and picked up her glasses. Quickly she glanced over at Amon who gave her a small, approving nod and the faintest of smiles before returning his mask. Robin put her glasses on as she walked back to the other two women.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" the young craft-user timidly asked.

"This is a great idea!" Doujima exclaimed happily.

With a small smile, Robin looked at the contents of the trash can and set it on fire.


	5. Chapter 5

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: No, I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Witch Hunter Robin. Sorry.

* * *

"Amon?" Robin began, breaking the comfortable silence between the two hunters as they drove back to Robin's apartment.

"Hmm?"

She fidgeted a moment before softly continuing. "Thank you."

Amon glanced at his partner from the corner of his eye. "For what?"

The young woman blushed. "For making me go to work today."

Amon nodded in reply. They continued in silence a bit longer.

"Robin, where did you get the idea to burn your dress?"

His partner blushed again, but the question did bring a smile to her face. The were at her apartment by then so he turned to watch her fully.

"Well, it was kind of a group thing. Doujima really seemed to want to do something. And, well, the dress was uncomfortable." Robin got out of the car, prompting Amon to do the same and follow her to her apartment.

"Your dress was uncomfortable?" It was obvious by his tone that he was doubtful.

"It was an exact duplicate of the one that I wore before..." Amon nodded, encouraging her to continue. "It was too much of a reminder. So, when Doujima asked what she could do, it struck me that she would enjoy shopping and I could get something to replace my dress without my having to go out in public yet.

"When we were trying things on, she suggested that I throw the dress away entirely. Karasuma liked the idea and thought I should burn it. She thought it would be a good symbol for moving forward."

"Did it work?" They had gotten to Robin's apartment so now the black-clad man was leaning against the wall, watching his young partner as she went about the kitchen making coffee.

She paused a moment before answering. "It made me feel better, so I guess it did."

Robin quietly padded over to hand Amon a mug of coffee before curling up on the couch.

"Amon, why did you say 'We'll get through this'? Why did you say 'we'?" The question was innocent enough, but Amon had no idea how to answer.

"Why did you call me to get you from the hospital?"

Now it was Robin's turn to wonder how to answer. "I asked first."

"The answers are the same, Robin."

Amon watched the thoughts flicker across his partner's face as he hid his smirk by drinking his coffee. It didn't really matter why she had decided to call him. Any answer would be acceptable. He highly doubted that some deep seeded desire to protect him and take care of him had anything to do with her call as it did with his comment. Anything else that she would likely come up with would be simpler.

Her features finally rested into confusion. The impassive man guessed she still didn't know why she had called him.

"Amon?"

"Yes?"

"Would you stay here tonight? I was too scared to sleep last night and I'm not looking forward to being alone tonight either."

"No." His blunt negative response obviously surprised her. Amon could see the hurt in her eyes though she tried to hide it. "You can come to my place, but I won't stay here."

"Because of Touko," Robin almost whispered. Amon heard her but chose not to comment. Instead he looked inside his now empty mug.

——— 

Slowly Robin got back to something akin to her normal self. She stayed with Amon until Touko came back to town. She had wanted to stay with her dark partner longer, but he wouldn't allow it. In reality he had wanted her to stay, but he knew his emotions for her were inappropriate. She may be of age, but the trauma of her attack was still just under the surface. It was definitely not the time to stir the pot of emotions. That would only complicate things more.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter has been slightly changed. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of Amon being in a gang, but I couldn't come up with anything else that would work for what I wanted to do. Prospero53223, however, did come up with something different, so Amon is no longer affiliated with any gangs. Yay! To anyone who read this chapter before 27 Sept 07, the change doesn't really change anything at this point.

* * *

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Drats.

* * *

The communicator was ringing, slowly pulling Amon from his much needed sleep.

"Hello?" he groggily answered.

"Amon, you aren't going to believe this!" Michael sounded almost giddy. "I just got some things regarding Robin's case..."

The last comment pulled the sleepy hunter to full wakefulness. It had been almost three weeks since the attack and as of yet they had no real leads.

"Did you say 'things'?"

"Sure did. I'm not sure if it's worth getting everyone here early, but I thought I'd run it by you."

Amon looked at his alarm clock. 6:30 am.

"When's Zaizen coming in today?" It would be best if he wasn't there. The administrator had been, at best, antagonistic towards their search for Robin's attackers.

"He's not. Supposedly he's at HQ this week."

Amon nodded to himself.

"Call Doujima and tell her to be at the office on time. The rest of us would be there within the next hour and a half anyway so there probably isn't much point in calling them. Be prepared to tell us everything when we get there, Michael."

———

"So, I got some information last night that has to do with Robin's... uh... attack." Michael hesitated slightly, not sure how to tread into the topic. Outwardly she seemed to be adjusting well, but he had noticed that she still pulled away from all of the men in the office. From what he overheard the others say, she was easily spooked by strangers out in public too.

"First off, Sakaki's and Doujima's canvassing of the area finally proved fruitful." The IT guru started playing a grainy video on everyone's monitors before continuing. "It seems that after they started asking around, someone in the apartment building took it upon themselves to see if anyone had any surveillance going on. Turns out, someone did have a web cam looking out there. Actually, several people did, but only one had anything useful."

Robin made a strange squeak, her eyes going wide with fear as the video showed the first assailant and herself on the screen. Amon noticed and was sitting next to her before anyone else could even react. The terrified hunter turned to bury her face against her silent partner. He could feel her shaking and wrapped his arms around her protectively. The rest of the team openly stared in disbelief at this display of affection. He simply glared at them, daring them to comment and incur his wrath.

Stuttering, Michael got back on topic. "The attacker looks to be Yoshi Kita, age 25. He was known to run with Toratsume, but it's not known if he still does. The gang itself is known for random violence and it is said that many of their former members are willing to continue the trade for money. Kita, himself, has a rather long police record. So, there's our suspect."

When Michael pause to take a breath, Karasuma interrupted. "I believe that there were at least two men there, based on what I felt at the crime scene."

"There were three," Robin whispered softly enough that only Amon could hear, and that was just barely. He looked down at the quivering form in his arms and gave her a light squeeze.

"Robin says there were three assailants." Amon could barely keep the steel out of his voice. _'No wonder she had been beaten so badly,'_ he fumed to himself.

Michael swallowed noticeably. "Well, unfortunately only one is on the recording, and rather briefly at that. That might explain the second bit of news, however.

"This morning I received an anonymous e-mail stating that one of the assailants was a Haru Maki, who is known to run around with Kita. The message also said that they were hired to make the attack."

Robin made another squeak, and leaned closer to Amon.

"What do we know about this messenger?" Amon asked icily.

"Not much. It looks to have been sent through several anonymous re-mailers, so the normal routing information is basically junk."

"Well, then find out everything you can. Karasuma and Sakaki, see what you can find out about the gang. Doujima, help Michael find out more about the two suspects we know of." Amon's voice was getting darker by the word. By the time he was done speaking, no one was willing to question his directions.

———

"Nagira."

The jovial man watching TV jumped to his feet at the sound of his name.

"Shit. Don't you know how to knock?"

Amon ignored the annoyance in his brother's voice. "Do you have any information for me?"

"No. My contacts haven't heard anything. You didn't have much for me to go on, you know."

"I have more."

Nagira didn't like the sound of Amon's voice. Dispassionate, icy, angry – those were normal for his brooding younger brother. This was more like the sound of death – an eerie calmness mixed with steal laced words. It had been a long time since he had heard this particular cadence.

Amon passed a note to his brother with the names of the two suspects and their previous gang affiliation on it. "Those are two of the three that attacked her. We have reason to believe that they were hired to do the job."

"Well, that might explain the feeling of revenge your scryer felt."

"Perhaps."

Nagira's jaw literally dropped when he read the note. "You know who ..."

"Yes." The Toratsume were known as being one of the few truly violent gangs in Tokyo. Very few people dared to cross them, and many who did found themselves dead. Even the police seemed to be afraid of them. "I just need you to find out who the third person is and who hired them. I don't expect you to get entangled with them directly. That's for the STN-J to do."

"You mean for **you** to do."

"Does it matter?"

Nagira warily shook his head. "Don't get in too deep, Otouto."

"Just get me the information, Nii-san."

With that, the hunter turned and left, his black coat billowing behind him.

Nagira looked back at the slip of paper, brows furrowed with concern. _'I wonder if he's like this when he hunts witches, too.'_ The thought unnerved him more than he cared. Shaking his head, he grabbed his phone to call his first contact.

* * *

**definitions:**

Toratsume – tiger's claw (ok, so I made up the name by using the word for tiger and the word for claw and stuck them together, let me know if you have a better name)

otouto – little brother, usually in an affectionate way

nii-san – older brother, usually in an affectionate way


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: If you read chapter 6 before 27 Sept 2007, be forewarned that Prospero53223 inspired me to take Amon out of the gang and do something else that will be much more Amon-ish than a gang would be. It shouldn't make much difference this way, but I thought I would warn you.

* * *

Trials and Tribulations 

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep reminding people that I don't own Witch Hunter Robin?

* * *

Robin looked around the office, noticing that everyone had left. She sighed quietly to herself. Amon had been gone most of the day, again, and still wasn't back. She, herself, had been working on finding clues to an older case, but she knew everyone else had been watching the clock, impatient for the day to be over. The young hunter knew that everyone would dash for the door as soon as they could, she just hadn't paid enough attention. Now she was alone. 

Sighing again, Robin went down to the main floor, fully intending to walk home. As she approached the gate, her strength of will vanished. Trembling, she took a step back into the building. She thought about calling a cab, then realized she didn't have the money.

_'You are just going to have to face your fears,'_ she chided herself. _'You can't hide forever.'_

She remembered something one of the nuns had told her when she was scared as a child. The woman had told Robin to close her eyes and think of what made her feel safe and protected, and in thinking this to get a clear image of the thing in her mind. Robin closed her eyes and thought about what made her feel safe today. Slowly an image of Amon began to form. She couldn't help but smile at the thought. It did, however, give her the confidence to start walking.

As she started to go through the gate, someone grabbed her shoulder tightly. She froze immediately, unsure what to do.

"Where do you think you're going?" The voice was dark and cold. Robin recognized it as that of her partner.

"Home." She turned to look at Amon.

"You think that wise?"

"Probably not. But the sun is still up and everyone else left..." She trailed off at the end, not wanting to say that she thought he wouldn't be back.

Amon shook his head, a small smile trying to escape the confines of his stoic gaze. "Come on, I'll walk you home. I think I'd like to see the route you take."

Robin nodded her head and led the way. They didn't say anything as they went. Robin kept mentally wondering if her normally prickly partner was actually softening around her or if she was imagining it in her distress. He certainly seemed to be softening, but she was afraid to put much confidence in that analysis.

For his part, Amon was memorizing the route Robin led him on. He would come back later to scrutinize it more thoroughly. After remembering that Touko had occasionally hung out with members of the Toratsume when she was younger, he started wondering if it was coincidence that they were the ones who attacked Robin. He had gotten so far into his own train of thought that he actually found himself without his companion.

Robin was only two or three steps behind him when Amon turned towards her. She stood motionless, her eyes alight with fear. They had only taken a dozen or so steps down the alleyway, but this was the maze of streets where she had been attacked. When she didn't move of her own accord, he called to her, causing the young woman to scurry forth and grab his arm with both of her tiny hands.

Amon tried not to react to this sudden clutching that was so uncharacteristic of the girl. He merely looked down at her, raising one eyebrow in question. She had grabbed Amon's arm out of instinct, not even thinking about what his reaction would be. Robin immediately released her partner's arm and stared at the ground, hiding the light blush that was creeping in.

"It's ok, Robin," Amon calmly responded. "You can keep hold if it makes you feel better."

Robin looked up at him, the light pink hue still tinting her cheeks. Grateful for his indulgence, she reached back up to his arm. They continued that way until they got back to her apartment and parted ways.

———

"So, if it isn't the great hunter Amon," he heard someone nearby sneer. Keeping his hands buried deep in his coat pockets, Amon turned to face the owner of the voice. "I had wondered if we might see you around here. I noticed the little girl clung awfully tightly to you."

Amon didn't respond as the shorter man sauntered out of the side alley he was in.

"So, what's the girl to ya? She your sister?" the man began to taunt as he pulled his long dark hair back into a ponytail. "Or maybe she's your girlfriend, though she looks a bit young for ya. But maybe ya like em young. Maybe ya like virgins. I hear there's some that will sleep with no one else. If that's the case, friend, you should know that Yoshi's already taken care of her."

Amon knew the idiot was trying to bait him. He was easily able to keep his cold, unconcerned mask in place as he watched the younger man prepare to attack. Inside the hunter felt his emotions drain from him to be replaced with the cold emptiness that reminded him of his days before he was a hunter with the STN-J – the days when he was more of an assassin than anything else.

When the man lunged, Amon leaned back slightly and grabbed the man's arm, pulling him through his strike and into the trash bins beside himself. Glaring, the attacker got up and began circling Amon, rattling on about Amon's lucky block. For his own part, Amon followed the younger man with his eyes, never moving from within a small area around his feet.

The younger man leaped to attack again. This time Amon caught the braggarts arm and redirected his trajectory towards the wall, with Amon following and pinning him there.

"You can make this easy on yourself or not," Amon chillingly whispered in his captive's ear, pulling the terrified man's arm across his back, ready to break it in one swift motion.

* * *

A/N: As always, I hope you enjoyed and please R&R! 


	8. Chapter 8

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own very little. Witch Hunter Robin goes into the list of things I don't own.

* * *

"Michael," Amon called as he and Robin stepped into the office. 

"Everyone, come take a look at this!" Michael exclaimed at almost the same instant.

The hunters all gathered around Michael's computer as he started the video stream over again.

**[The victim, we are told, was Ayame Tokoshida. Police have confirmed that the 19 year old was shot execution style in an alley in the area near _crackle_. It is believed that Tokoshida was a member if the Toratsume gang, sparking concerns of increased gang violence in the area...**

"Amon, do you think there's a connection between this guy and our case?" Sakaki asked, sounding almost excited about the possibility.

"I doubt it," the taciturn man replied as he went to his desk, ignoring the questioning looks.

After everyone got back to their work, Michael turned towards stolid hunter. "Hey, did you want something, Amon?"

"Do a background check on Takai Matsouka. He should also be affiliated with Kita and Maki."

"Will do."

It hadn't even been an hour when Amon got up and headed for the elevator. Seeing her partner leaving, Robin stood to follow until he shook his head. The confused girl cocked her head in question but only received an icy glare and another head shake. With a dejected sigh, she sat back down and resumed her work.

"Sakaki," Amon tersely said, grabbing the younger man's arm as he passed. "Make sure Robin gets a ride home tonight." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the office.

_'He hates me,'_ Robin thought to herself. _'I've been so weak he can't stand to even be around me anymore. Not that he liked me much to begin with, but now he must truly loathe me for letting this happen and then being so terrified because of it...'_ Robin's negative thoughts kept swirling around in her head until she couldn't deal with it any longer.

Doujima looked up at the sound of Robin's boots clicking rapidly across the floor to the women's locker. Something about the movement caught her attention, causing her to get up and follow.

"Robin!" the blond exclaimed, seeing the younger woman crumpled on the floor crying. Doujima ran over and kneeled next to her friend, wrapping her in a hug. "What's wrong?" The second girl merely shook her head, unable to speak or stem the grief she felt flooding through her.

——— 

"I heard the news on the TV this morning. You wouldn't have had anything to do with that little incident, would you?" Nagira didn't really expect an answer to his chiding. Amon didn't disappoint him either, merely gracing him with an annoyed glare. Nagira shook his head, smiling, as he took out a cigarette. On a whim, he held the pack out to his younger brother, silently offering him one as well. Much to the older man's surprise, Amon took one.

"Now that's something I haven't seen you do in a very long while," Nagira replied jokingly as he watched Amon light it and take his first drag. He hadn't seen his brother smoke since he was 18 or 19. "You know, you could start having that partner of yours light them for you," he continued teasing.

Without hesitation, Amon darkly responded, "If you ever tell her about any of this, you'll be as dead as that kid this morning." Nagira looked at his brother in surprise, not knowing how to respond.

"So, you called this meeting. What's up?" Nagira finally asked, purposely changing topics.

"I need info on two more people – Takai Matsuoka and Senichi Kato. Matsuoka looks good for the third assailant. Somehow Kato seems to be a go between for these guys and their contract.

"Same gang?"

Amon nodded as he lazily watched the smoke rise and dissipate into the air. Nagira humphed in the hunter's general direction, handing him a rather large manila envelope. Amon's eyes glanced through the contents.

"Thanks," he replied as he took the envelope and put it in his coat before getting up to leave.

——— 

After witnessing Robin's breakdown earlier at the office, Doujima was determined to cheer the younger girl up. She had worried about her friend but hadn't wanted to pry, figuring that Robin would open up when she was ready. Seeing the normally serene craft-user crying uncontrollably on the floor of the locker room made her realize that Robin likely didn't have anyone to turn to. '_Well, she has Amon, but was she actually telling him anything? And was he doing anything to help her? Probably not,' _she thought.

A few weeks ago, Doujima would have wondered if he would have even cared, but she had seen how their aloof leader had changed with these events. She idly wondered if this gentler side of Amon was completely new, or if it was something that Robin had seen before and the rest of the team was just now witnessing bits of. As confused and distraught as Robin seemed, she would bet on the former.

The two women were chatting while dinner cooked. Doujima had suggested a girl's night out for the two of them. Robin had only been half-hearted in accepting the suggestion, but as the day went on she had found that she was actually getting excited about it. After finding out that Touko was out of town, Doujima turned it into a sleep over.

"Robin, can I ask you something?" Doujima carefully made sure she was talking in playful tones even though she was getting ready to jump into a serious topic.

"Of course," was the soft reply.

"What happened today?"

Robin blinked, unsure how to answer and surprised at how serious the other blond had become so suddenly. "What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

"I know these past few weeks had to have been hard on you. No one's wanted to say anything, but you know all of us have been worried about you, don't you?"

"Doujima," Robin began softly. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine. Really."

"No you're not. You're putting up a good face, but something happened to make you break down today. Please, let us help you." The sincerity in her friend's voice threatened to make the younger woman cry again.

When Robin didn't respond, Doujima walked over and hugged her. "Have you talked to anyone about it?" Robin shook her head slightly. "Not even Amon?" Another head shake, this one a bit more emphatic than the last. _'I can't blame her there, I sure wouldn't want to talk to Amon about this.'_ The two young women stood there a few moments before Doujima pulled away and moved to sit on the couch.

"Did you know, after Amon told us what happened and had left, Sakaki threw his coffee against the wall?" the older blond asked, changing the topic to a lighter aspect. "It made a huge mess. Then he stormed out of the office. He didn't talk to me for almost a week."

"Really?" Robin asked in her soft, inquisitive voice as she moved to sit on the other end of the couch. _'Good, she's interested.'_

"Yep. He finally came to me and apologized for how he'd been acting. It turned out he was so mad that someone could attack you like that that he didn't know what to do. He was trying to hide his anger and not lash out at one of us, so he tried to stay away from the office."

"He didn't need to be worried. I was fine."

"He knew that, but it didn't change the fact that he was angry with the situation."

"How did he finally deal with it?"

"Well, he said he had finally allowed himself to acknowledge his anger, so now he could deal with it."

With a mischievous glint in her blue eyes, Doujima leaned towards Robin slightly before continuing in a more conspiratorial tone. "Don't tell anyone, but according to Sakaki, Amon lit into him about something stupid after a hunt and wasn't letting up. Sakaki turned to walk away and Amon grabbed him. One thing led to another until the two were in a full out fight."

At this, Robin's eyes became wide as she instinctively brought her hand to her mouth. Doujima just nodded before she continued. "According to Sakaki, they continued until Amon had knocked him to the ground and he didn't immediately get up. At that point, Amon looked down at him a said, 'Now take that anger and focus it on the ones who caused it. We will find them.' Or something like that.

"Now, I think Amon knew what was going on and purposely instigated the fight. Sakaki wasn't so sure at the time, but as he's looked back on it, he tends to believe I'm right. Sakaki needed to vent some of the anger so that he could acknowledge it and then move forward."

Robin, who had found herself completely engrossed in the story, now sat back contemplating it. The two women sat in silence for some time before Robin broke it.

"I was so ashamed," the younger girl began, staring at her hands. "I was afraid of what everyone would think of me now that... that," Robin looked up at the other woman, who responded by putting her hand over Robin's and nodding in understanding. "And I was so afraid that they would come back. I just wanted to forget it happened. I wanted everyone to forget how dirty I am now. But I can't forget..." Robin's green eyes began to tear again as she tried not to cry.

Doujima pulled her friend to her and Robin began crying softly. "It's not your fault, Robin. You know that, don't you? They violated **you**. You aren't dirty because of this, they are. They are the ones who will be judged for this, not you." Robin nodded slightly, feeling somewhat better now that she had put some of her fears into words.

* * *

A/N: In the video I did a 'crackle' sound effect instead of having an actual part of town defined. The show always seemed to do that, so I thought I would return to that model. 

Hope you all had a good time!


	9. Chapter 9

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Still don't own WHR.

A/N: So this is attempt 3 to rid myself of OOC-ness. Thanks to Prospero53223 for her help in getting this done! I know, there's still OOC-ness, but it's far better now than it was. Again, if you have read the previous versions of this chapter, the plot hasn't changed, just some of the details.

* * *

"What are you two so chipper about?" Sakaki asked as Doujima and Robin entered the office, giggling. 

"Girl's stuff," Doujima flippantly replied. Robin merely giggled again.

Amon looked over his shoulder, his eyes softening slightly at the sight of his parter. He couldn't pinpoint it, but something had happened to ease some of her tension. Mentally he thanked Doujima for whatever role she played in Robin's change.

Without further acknowledgment of the girls, Amon got up from his desk and strode towards the elevator. "Sakaki," his low voice commanded, "come with me."

Seeing her partner was going out, Robin turned to follow as well.

"No, Robin. You stay."

The youngest hunter paused briefly, then quickened her pace to catch up.

"Robin."

"Why?" She glared at the impassive man defiantly. Amon started to ignore the question, then thought better of it. He grabbed her arm roughly and bent down to speak to her softly enough that only she would hear.

"I'm not taking you with me when I'm working on your case. I won't, and you don't need to be there. Don't ask me again." With that the eldest hunter turned to join the other, leaving Robin to stare in stunned silence.

———

"Where are we going, anyway?" Sakaki asked the silent driver.

"Thought you might want to go interview someone with me," Amon replied, glancing over at the younger man.

"Robin could have helped you with that."

"Not where we're going and who we're interviewing."

The two men rode on in amicable silence until Amon pulled his car to a stop in an alley.

"Here, take this," the impassive hunter advised as he opened the glove box and pulled out a Beretta 92 that he handed to the other. "The orbo gun likely won't do you any good here. And don't be surprised if there's more than just the guy we're here to talk to."

Sakaki followed Amon through the maze of streets and shops. The area they were in was almost as bad as the Walled City, though there were more people milling about. Amon led him through an unmarked door and up several flights of stairs before stopping in a dark room. Neither moved or made a sound for some time. Just as Sakaki was about to say something, he heard a sound in one of the darkened corners.

"I thought it was just to be the two of us," someone said, almost hesitantly, from the dark.

"It looks like neither of us came alone," Amon returned in his standard low monotone voice inclining his head towards a boy in the shadows of a different corner who looked to be about 17 or 18.

"The one who came with me is but a child," the still hidden man said diffidently.

"He's older than the girl you helped rape."

"I didn't rape her!" the man screeched as he came out of the shadows before visibly calming down. "I was merely the messenger."

"Kato," Amon stated flatly in way of greeting.

"Amon." The man bowed respectfully, ignoring that neither Amon nor Sakaki followed suit. He was a tall man by Japanese standards, though still shorter than Amon. By his dress, he was obviously a successful business man.

"So, how may I be of service to you today, friend?" Kato attempted to placate the glaring man before him, without success.

"Who put out the contract?" Sakaki impatiently interjected, incensed by Kato's nonchalance.

"Hmm... you know I can't divulge that. It would be a breach of confidence." The graying businessman spread his hands in supplication.

"You wouldn't want to end up like Tokoshida, would you?" Sakaki took a glance toward Amon, shocked by the insinuation. The dark hunter's voice had taken a very ominous tone, but on the outside he looked as calm as he normally did. It suddenly occurred to Sakaki that this was a man whom he **never** wanted to get on the bad side of.

Kato blinked, his face obviously paling. "If I say anything, they'll put a price on my head, you know."

"If you don't say anything, you won't leave here alive," Amon coldly replied.

"And if I talk?" Kato was nervously looking for a way out. He hadn't expected someone as foreboding as the cold man in front of him, nor had he expected to be seriously threatened at this meeting.

"You'll merely look like you had the information beaten out of you."

———

As they headed back to the car, Sakaki was visibly shaken.

"Here, clean the blood off," Amon suggested impassively, throwing a towel he got from the trunk at the younger man.

Sakaki caught the cloth and leaned against Amon's car, cleaning the worst of the mess off himself.

"I can't believe we just did that," the younger hunter whispered.

The elder hunter lit a cigarette and leaned against the car next to his coworker. "He might live because of that beating."

"But you..."

"We couldn't have a witness to the confession."

"What about the contact who put out the hit?"

Amon looked hard at Sakaki, weighing his next words. "Haruto, if you care about anyone on the team, then you'll say nothing about what just happened - to anyone. And you won't ask me who the contact was," Amon stated.

Sakaki didn't know what to think. Amon had grabbed Kato by the collar and pulled the quivering man up to his eye level. The dark hunter had growled something and the smaller man had responded, but their interaction had been too quiet for the younger hunter to hear. In the end, they had beaten Kato senseless and Amon had flat out shot the other young man there. Glancing at the stoic man, he shuddered. Everyone always acted as if they expected him to be completely cold and heartless, but no one really believed it. Now, Sakaki had seen proof that their field leader could actually be like that. He wasn't sure if he should be scared of the man or in awe of him.

The two stood in silence before Amon flicked his cigarette away and moved to get into the car.

"Sakaki." The younger man jumped at the sound of his name as he was pulled from his thoughts. Realizing that Amon had gotten into the car, he went to the passenger side and got in.

* * *

A/N: Critiques and constructive criticism are always welcome! 


	10. Chapter 10

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Don't own WHR. Never will. How sad.

A/N: I have made some changes since I originally posted this chapter. It isn't anything that changes the plot line, it's mostly a removal of some OOC-ness.

* * *

It was a rare occurrence, but Amon was actually running early to pick Robin up for work. He normally ran a little early, not wanting to miss her before she left. He didn't like her walking to the office anymore. It was overprotective and out of character for his part, but it was better than worrying. This day, though he was early enough that he headed up to her apartment instead of doing his normal park and wait routine. 

When he knocked on her door, it opened on its own, as if someone hadn't shut it fully. No one responded. Pulling out his gun, he silently crept through the door, looking for anything out of the ordinary. What he found was Robin standing in front of the kitchen table, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were hugging herself. She looked to be shaking.

"Robin," he said cautiously as he looked around the room. She jumped slightly, his only indication that she heard him. Quietly he walked towards her. It wasn't like her to have so little reaction. It made him look more for a trap, but as he got closer to her he realized that she was desperately trying not to cry.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Amon was right behind her when he spoke. She didn't say anything, but turned to bury her face in his chest. The silent man tentatively wrapped his arms around the quivering girl.

_'What is it about this green-eyed young woman that has melted my heart?'_ he wondered, not for the first time. There was something about her that seemed to always make him want to protect her. She made him want to have emotions that he could share with her. Amon couldn't remember a single person who had ever made him feel this way, who made him want to hold them and wipe their tears away. He was still afraid to name these emotions or the reason for them. _'That doesn't matter, anyway. If I did, I'd have to tell her, and she doesn't need that right now.'_

When Robin hiccuped, he loosened his grip and looked down at her. She continued to look downward. Amon put his finger under her chin to tilt her face up to look at him.

Wiping a tear away with his thumb, he searched her eyes before speaking. "What happened?"

Robin didn't speak. She simply looked at the table, indicating an envelope there. Following her gaze, Amon growled. The young woman tensed at the sound. The ivory envelope had Robin's name on it as well as a stylized tiger ready to pounce from the right hand side. _'They came into her home.'_ The thought reverberated in his mind.

"Do you know when this arrived?"

"Sometime while I was taking my shower and getting ready for work." She looked away and seemed to shrink into herself.

Trying to control his anger, Amon hugged his partner to himself. "I'm not angry at you, Robin." After a brief pause, he continued, "Are you positive that it didn't arrive earlier?"

Robin gave a small nod before explaining. "I didn't sleep well last night. I was sitting here eating before I got ready for work. It wasn't here then."

Amon nodded, his eyes clouding in thought. _'Damn, they're being bold.'_ "Where is Touko?"

"She's out of town again. You don't think she has anything to do with this, do you?" Robin's eyes were wide with concern.

Shaking his head, the elder hunter replied, "No, I just want to be thorough. Have you read it yet?"

"No, I haven't even touched it."

"I'll be right back, then." Within moments Amon was back with an evidence bag that he carefully put the envelope into.

"Ready?" It was all he said, but it was all that needed to be said. Robin gave a small nod and the two left to start another day.

———

Amon had dropped Robin off at Raven's Flat, not even bothering to pull into the garage. He wanted to take the letter to forensics and find out what it said. He knew it was from the Toratsume – the tiger drawing proved that in his eyes. The message inside proved to actually not be much. It told Robin that the author had enjoyed their last meeting and that he couldn't wait for the next time. It was a warning – we know where you live and we can come back at any time.

———

"So the bastards came into her place while she was awake, but without her noticing, to leave a pretty picture of a tiger?" Amon didn't bother correcting Nagira about the envelope. As is normal with the man, he was oversimplifying the situation. "That's pretty bold. And there wasn't a message to go along with it?"

"Nothing of consequence."

Nagira nodded his head thoughtfully. "Have you thought of having her stay with someone else?"

Amon absently nodded, his mind turning over the facts he had so far. "I'm going to talk to her about it later today."

* * *

definitions:

Toratsume – tiger's claw

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is short. Hopefully you like it anyway! 


	11. Chapter 11

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Don't own WHR. Never will. How sad.

* * *

"Robin! We **must** eat here! It's all the rave and supposedly they have some of the best food around," Doujima exclaimed excitedly. 

Robin had to admit that the place seemed popular – though there were so many people she was almost afraid to go in. That said, somehow the younger blond didn't think her friend wanted to go there because of the food. All of the young men on the wait staff seemed well built and **very** good looking. She blushed slightly at her thought.

"I don't know about this, Doujima..." She was still nervous being around strange people.

"Oh come on," the older blond pouted. "The bar's up front here, so it looks more crowded than it really is. Look, there's a table back there." Before Robin could protest, Doujima had grabbed her and pulled her towards the table. The younger woman cringed, trying not to run into anyone while the older woman dragged her through the throng of people.

Finally arriving at the high top table that she had been eying, Doujima almost immediately started rambling about how popular the place was. Robin slowly started tuning her ditzy friend out and instead watched the people. There were all sorts of people from businessmen to teens dressed in the latest fashions and everything in between. She was a bit surprised to see such a mix. Most places she had been to seemed to cater to one type of clientèle. This place seemed to cater to everyone. _'Kind of like the colors here,'_ Robin mused to herself, noting that the corner they were in had one wall painted a deep forest green joining another painted eggplant purple.

After they had ordered and Robin had gone back to people watching, she gasped. Someone walked by who seemed to have a tattoo of a tiger on his arm that looked similar to the one on the envelope from that morning. Instinctively the quiet girl had looked away briefly. When she turned back, she couldn't find the person again. _'Maybe it was my imagination,'_ she told herself, trying to calm the jitters she was now experiencing.

"Robin, look over there," Doujima nudged her friend before indicating two young men who seemed to be checking them out.

——— 

Amon was sitting back in a darkened corner of the eclectic restaurant. One of Nagira's contacts had thought that Maki worked here during the late evening shift. He hadn't seen any indication of the man, but it was still early. He didn't honestly expect to even be able to confront him before midnight.

The reserved hunter was near the bar, leaning against one of the few walls that had shadows on it, watching the people milling around the place, drinking. The bar area seemed to be the place to go and pick up people. In fact, someone had already tried to flirt with him. A stern glare and a quick 'I'm waiting for someone' had sent the young woman away, but instinct told him she wouldn't be the only one to try to talk to him that night.

Glancing around the room, Amon cringed as he saw Doujima and Robin enter the restaurant. He knew that they likely wouldn't see him where he was, but he still didn't like the fact that they were there. _'At least I can keep an eye on Robin and stake out the place at the same time,'_ he thought before mentally kicking himself. Keeping an eye on Robin shouldn't have even entered his mind.

The stoic man continued watching the flirting of the people around him. He did have to admit that it was humorous to listen to the ludicrous pick-up lines that some of the patrons used. Briefly, he wondered how many of these his brother had tried. When he looked to see where Robin and Doujima had ended up, all amusement left.

Doujima was waving two guys over to join them, being animated enough to indicate to Amon that she was encouraging and joining in on the flirting. Robin looked to be tense. He knew she wasn't ready to interact with strange men yet. She could barely interact with her male coworkers without flinching involuntarily. Doujima obviously didn't realize it, or else she was purposely trying to get Robin out of her comfort zone. He wouldn't put either option past her.

"There you are, dear." Amon came up behind them and put an arm around Robin's shoulders. "I'm sorry I'm late." He glared menacingly at the young man nearest Robin.

Robin almost jumped out of her chair when her partner touched her, but as soon as she heard his voice, she looked up at him, smiling, grateful for his rescue. The young men Doujima had indicated a few moments ago had come over to talk to them. Robin guessed they were flirting. She wasn't sure, she'd have to ask Doujima later. Regardless, one kept trying to talk to her while simultaneously inching closer. He was making her quite uncomfortable. Both young men glared at Amon when he appeared before backing away, muttering.

"Aw, Amon. You always show up to ruin our fun," Doujima pouted.

"It didn't look like Robin was having much fun," he responded icily.

Robin turned her expressive emerald eyes to him, "Thank you."

Doujima humphed quietly before excusing herself to go to the washroom. After she had left, Amon pulled a chair around to sit next to Robin.

"What are you doing here?" Robin softly asked, still gazing at the handsome man beside her. "I thought you were busy..." As soon as the words left her mouth, she blushed. _'Maybe he has a date and that what he was busy with.'_ She hadn't thought about that. She had just presumed that he was busy with work when he told her she shouldn't stay at her place but that he was busy that night and she couldn't stay with him.

Amon watched, entranced, as the emotions and thoughts flickered through her eyes. He could almost hear the questions that she likely wouldn't ask.

"Amon?" He glanced at her, silently acknowledging her, as he took a drink. "What are you doing here?"

"Working." Robin raised her eyebrows in obvious doubt. "Can you honestly see me in a place like this for fun?" he asked dryly. Robin had to stifle a giggle at that. He was right, the place just didn't feel like somewhere he would go of his own volition.

"I think one of them is here." Amon didn't have to ask who 'them' was. The soft tone of her voice did that.

"Are you sure?" Robin looked to be thinking about this before she finally shook her head dejectedly. "Then what makes you think so?"

"Well, I thought I saw someone with a tattoo like the tiger on the envelope."

Amon nodded his head, a plan forming in his mind. "Would you be able to point him out if you saw him again?" She nodded her head. "Good, then keep looking around and let me know when you find him."

"Amon," Robin presently whispered, lightly tugging on Amon's sleeve. When the reserved man turned to her, he noticed that she was watching something. Following her gaze, the hunter immediately picked out who his partner was staring at.

"Was he one of your attackers?"

"I don't know," Robin answered honestly.

"You don't know what?" Doujima asked as she took her seat once more.

Before anything else could be said, Amon spoke. "Doujima, I need you to do something." The flighty blond looked fit to be tied that Amon would even think of making her work when she was out having fun. For his part, Amon glared at her, daring her to object.

"See the waiter over at that table?" She nodded. "I want you to find out who he is."

He face brightened at that. "Will do, boss."

Doujima went to the bar and talked to the buff waiter when he came by. After he had made a few trips around the restaurant and back to her, she rejoined her coworkers at their table.

"It's Takai Matsuoka. Looks like he's working until about one in the morning."

———

Amon didn't notice the chill air as he sat motionless in the alley behind the restaurant. He had stayed with the girls until they were done with dinner, much to Robin's relief and Doujima's chagrin. Internally, he had been apprehensive about being with them, especially Robin, but it had proven a good opportunity to scope out the place. It also gave him an insight, though he couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not – Matsuoka didn't seem to recognize Robin. Even after bringing her a milkshake from the bar and handing it to her himself, he showed no sign of recognition. Robin did, though. She was positive that he had been one of the attackers.

Now the dark hunter was trailing the skinny bosozoku. He didn't want to confront the man where there might be witnesses around.

"Word has it you like attacking women," Amon stated emotionlessly when they were obviously out of earshot of anyone. Matsuoka stiffened and tried to play it off.

"I do whatever, if it pays." He leaned against the wall, his back to it, arms crossed over his chest.

"So you'd have no qualms being hired to rape a girl?"

Matsuoka shrugged, a smirk playing at his lips. "Nope, never have yet. Why don't you come out of the shadows if you want to talk business? Otherwise, I'll have to say farewell to ya now."

"Really?" Amon asked darkly as he stepped out of the shadows. As Matsuoka looked Amon over critically, a flash of recognition crossed his face.

"You look like you could take care of your own issues. What do you need me for?"

"Who says I need you?" Amon replied, ominously as he stepped closer to the man.

* * *

definitions: 

bosozoku – Japanese gang member

* * *

A/N: As always, critiques and criticisms are always welcome! Please R & R. 


	12. Chapter 12

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own the characters from WHR.

* * *

"So, Haru, what's up? You sounded... how should I say this? A bit... concerned... on the phone." The boyish looking young man mocked, a teasing smile gracing his face. 

"You haven't by chance received one of these, have you?" the lean, black leather clad man calmly asked as he tossed a gray envelope onto the table between them. Kita's eye twitched at the sight. He had received an identical one – silver gray envelope with a stylized dragon slinking across the right side and bottom edge of the envelope. It was an obvious mimicry of the message he had left the girl. _'But why the dragon?' _he wondered, as he nodded slightly at his companion.

"So, what do you make of it?" Maki asked, absentmindedly playing with one of his many black and silver necklaces. "I doubt the girl has anything to do with it."

"Never know. Girls are devious like that. Or it could be she's got some boyfriend who thinks he's being cool."

Kita was getting on Maki's nerves. He had never been particularly enamored with the man and his casualness in regards to their current contract was making him even less so. Kita was the one who had been contracted for this, but was unable to do the job himself. He leaned more towards the conniving type of contracts like blackmail and money sharking. Maki and Matsouka, on the other hand, were typically contracted for more violent hits.

"Could be, but I doubt it. Did you read the message inside? This person claims to have taken care of Matsouka. He isn't one to roll-over easily. Whoever it was would have to be pretty good to be able to even cause a scratch."

Maki wasn't particularly worried himself. He was more interested in getting Kita's reaction, especially since the message indicated that the person wanted to meet. So far the smaller man wasn't handling the aftermath of their 'hit' very well. The go-between had already gone into hiding and Kita couldn't find him. A scout had been killed as well, but Kita was insistent that it had nothing to do with the contract. It was obvious to Maki that someone was retaliating, but Kita refused to see any links and thus refused to do any investigating of these incidents.

They knew that the girl was a hunter, the contact had told them that much. Maki knew what that meant. He had known witches who had been hunted before. They also knew that there were 3 women and 3 men on the team in Tokyo. They knew where all three of the women lived. They also knew who two of the men were – a gadget geek who didn't seem to ever leave the office and another young man who rode a motorcycle. The third man never seemed to be around, but Kita didn't seem to care. Their target didn't stay with any of the men, that they had noticed, so Kita wrote all three of them off as being unimportant. Somehow Maki felt that this third man was going to be the undoing of the deal.

After Kita had sauntered away, claiming to have more important things to deal with, Maki continued to ponder the messages the two had received. They disturbed him, and it was obvious that Kita had no idea what was going on. There weren't any gangs that he was aware of that used dragons as part of their symbols. _'Kita could be right, it could just be some kid who thinks he's cool.'_ There was a sense of foreboding for the man, however. He had seen a dragon like this before.

This dragon brought back memories, actually. When he was about 15, Maki and Matsouka had been recruited to join a covert operations unit for some group called Solomon. The organization was very militaristic, at least the part that they had contact with, which suited both young men just fine. Their specific team had been mostly an assassination group. They prepped together and trained together, but once given a target, they worked alone to kill it.

Most of the teams had some sort of symbol associated with them, a way to indicate who they were without leaving names or speaking. His team's was the dragon. He remembered one day watching one of his comrades, another boy maybe a year or two older than himself, drawing a dragon much like the one on the envelopes. Attempting to start a conversation, Maki had asked if the other youth knew why their unit was a dragon.

"Because, like the dragon, we don't exist. Even if someone saw a dragon they would convince themselves that they were imagining it, just as they do with us," the dark youth had replied tersely.

Maki had been in awe of the other youth from the first time he met him. He seemed to live and breathe their work, never missing a target or getting caught up in the stress of the job like so many others did. He was secretive and quiet, rarely did he speak and when he did, is was short and to the point.

'_That was some time ago, though. The whole team was disbanded 7 years ago, so it couldn't be one of them, could it?'_ Someone who had been from his unit was the only type of person that he could see getting Matsouka. It was an uneasy thought. Kita couldn't even guess at the consequences of running into someone like that.

———

Robin was walking towards Harry's when she stopped to look up at the crisp, blue sky. She was alone, but she didn't mind. Harry's was only a few blocks from the office and on a wide road. She had started this little ritual a few days before – go to Harry's alone, have an espresso, walk back. It wasn't much, and if she told anyone about it they probably would have thought her truly childish, but the walk made her feel like she was slowly getting out of her fear induced paranoia. She didn't like being so afraid.

"So, the little mouse isn't afraid of coming out of her hole by herself anymore?" Robin recognized the voice, but she couldn't immediately remember why. When she turned to see who was speaking, she saw him, leaning against the wall between two buildings. He stood and started walking towards her. Robin turned to run, but the man grabbed her arm and pulled her in between the buildings with him before she got far.

"Do you remember me, little girl?" He had pushed Robin against the wall, holding her wrists together just above her head so that she couldn't get away while one hand roughly covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. The young man was built and dressed much like Amon, even down to the black trench coat. He was tall, close to Amon's height, but was leaner with short, almost spiky hair. Robin silently nodded her head, her emerald eyes wide with fear. He had been one of the two people who had come up behind her when she was attacked.

"If I release your mouth, promise not to make a racket?" Again, the frightened girl nodded.

"Please, don't hurt me," Robin quietly pleaded with the man when he moved his hand to trace the outline of her cheekbone.

Maki leaned down to teasingly nip at her nose. "Now why would I do that?" Watching her squirm, he wished for the millionth time that it had been himself, and not Yoshi, who had been leading the attack on this girl. He would have had much more fun teasing her beforehand. Yoshi was just too damn impatient.

The silence between the two stretched before he finally spoke to the quivering girl again. "I've come bearing a message. Tell your dog to back off before he regrets picking a fight with us. If he doesn't, both of you will pay for it." He pointedly looked over her body before stepping back and releasing her. Then, with that, he disappeared down the alley.

As soon as she was released, Robin ran back to Raven's Flat. She didn't even stop to wait for the elevator, instead opting for the stairs. If nothing else, that route felt faster. When she got to the top, she was panting hard from the flat out sprint she had just done, as well as how frantic she now felt.

"Michael, where's Amon?"

Michael was the only other person in the office at the moment. He glanced up at Robin then turned back to his computer. Quickly he looked back up at Robin, realizing that something was wrong.

"Robin, what's going on?" he asked as he pulled his headphones out.

"I need to talk to Amon, do you know where he is?" The young computer genius could almost feel her panic from across the room.

"Behind you," came the low baritone voice of her partner.

Robin spun around, surprised at his presence.

"Amon, I saw... he grabbed... Harry's..." The distraught girl was talking so fast she was tripping over her own words.

The eldest hunter put his hand on her shoulder, silently interrupting her. "Take a deep breath and try again, Robin. You aren't making sense."

The frightened woman did as she was told, telling Amon everything about her walk to Harry's. As she spoke, she watched her partner's eyes go from their soft gray to smoldering steel. It frightened, but at the same time comforted, her. She was watching him get extremely angry, but at the same time, she knew it wasn't because of her. Not really anyway. It was comforting knowing that he was getting this angry because someone had threatened her – because it meant he actually cared on some level.

"They're stalking you," he said quietly, almost to himself.

"Why? What did I do?" _'What a question,'_ he thought, knowing that there wasn't an answer.

When he didn't respond, Robin asked another question, timidly and without looking up at him. "Amon, are you the 'dog' that he was talking about?"

The reticent man ignored this question as well. He was positive that he was the 'dog' the person had indicated, but if Robin wasn't going to put the two together on her own, he wasn't going to do it for her. So far Sakaki was the only hunter who had a true reason to link him to any of this and Amon preferred to keep it that way.

* * *

A/N: Wow... number 12. I'm actually a bit surprised that it's actually this long and I haven't lost the plot! Anyway, R&R please. 


	13. Chapter 13

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Same as always...

* * *

Kita had been resolute about not worrying about Matsouka, even though the message should have warned him otherwise. Exasperated, Maki went looking for his friend himself. He had worked most of the afternoon on finding him, but so far had only nailed down that Takai had disappeared somewhere between work and his home. _'He could have gone into hiding as well,'_ the man thought. He didn't think it likely, though. He had known Matsouka since they were kids. He knew Matsouka was more likely in the hospital or dead. He really didn't like the thought of the last option. 

When it came time to meet the anonymous messenger, Maki had been determined that Kita would be the one to meet the person while he would stay in the shadows and play backup. If Kita was going to own this contract, then he should lead and take the responsibility for the meeting as well. Kita was still positive that they were dealing with the girl's boyfriend, but Maki had been able to convince the impudent man that even an uneducated punk likely wouldn't come alone.

So now he was sitting here in the shadows of a rather secluded park. Kita was dressed in some orange monstrosity that was somewhere between a clown suit and a business suit. He was standing in the shadows of a tree but was far from hidden. Maki was, as usual, dressed in black, allowing him to blend into the shadows by a shrine not too far away. It was close to time and so far he hadn't seen anyone come near the area.

Maki glanced at his watch – 11:59. The meeting was supposed to be at midnight. He looked up and saw the outline of a man coming toward them. He wasn't trying to hide, though the only light came from the small sliver of moon that hung overhead, effectively keeping him in shadows as he approached. The man's hair and cloak swirled behind him, partly from the breeze and partly from his long strides. An eerie feeling of deja vu hit Maki.

"So, you finally decided to show up, boy!" Kita cockily exclaimed as he walked out of his shadows, arms spread as if welcoming an old friend.

The man stopped in a small clearing several meters in front of Kita. From where Maki was standing, the man seemed to be relaxed, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, his face expressionless.

"Kita," Amon aloofly responded to the man in front of him. The somber man was somewhat surprised, as well as disappointed, at what he saw, though he didn't show it. He remembered Kita as being an aggressive, angry youth who was always ready for a fight at the slightest hint of insult. What he saw was a ludicrous, pompous ass. He had originally been looking forward to this meeting, specifically the expected fight, but the idiot before him wasn't worth the time. Amon actually found that he had to fight the urge to just shoot the man and be done with it. Idly he wondered what Touko would think of her old friend if she saw him now.

"So, what brings you here, Amon? It's been what, 6 years since we last spoke? I actually have an appointment with someone..."

"You've crossed the line, Kita," Amon stated coldly, ignoring the questions of the other.

"Oh, have I now? And what line might that be?" Kita was mocking in his tone, oblivious to the ice in Amon's voice.

"The line that says you keep your hands off of things that belong to me."

Confusion and then fear settled onto Kita's countenance. It had finally dawned on him that his old acquaintance was referring to Robin. **This** was the boyfriend that he had imagined and kept blowing off. The glare he was receiving from the ominous hunter was enough to make him shrink where he stood. Furtively he glanced about to see what was around him. He hadn't actually fought since he lost to Amon over something regarding Touko almost 6 years ago. He'd been lucky to have survived it, actually, and the embarrassment of the loss kept him from ever crossing paths with the dark man again.

Without warning, a gun went off leaving the smell of gun powder drifting on the air. The bullet went cleanly through Kita's head, killing him before he had even hit the ground. Unfazed, Amon looked towards the shrine, right at Maki though he couldn't actually see him.

"That was a waste of a soul." Maki came out of the shadows, gun by his side. He looked Amon over, recognizing his old comrade. A look of sadness flitted across his eyes. Before him stood the person he had idolized in his youth and now he knew that the two stood on opposite sides of a fight.

Amon simply gazed dispassionately at the younger man.

"So, the little girl was yours, eh?" Maki was actually intrigued. He knew that he wouldn't get a response out of the stoic person in front of him, even as he slowly walked towards him. "Too bad. She's cute, but you know Kita, impatient to a fault. He didn't even do his research on the hit."

"So why did you follow him?" Amon was strangely interested in what the man had to say.

"I didn't normally. The contract asked for Kita specifically, but he doesn't normally do jobs like this, so he asked Matsouka and myself to help him and get a third of the payout each." The hunter merely nodded in response before Maki continued. "I have to say, I've wanted a reason to kill his sorry ass for a while. I should probably thank you for giving it to me. Anyone who gets that nervous when confronted in this line of business..." Maki shook his head and rolled his eyes to relay his disgust with the dead man's actions.

"Was there a point to the attack?" Amon mentally kicked himself for asking, but it was one question that he hadn't gotten answered yet, though he did have his own suspicions as to what the answer was.

"Yeah. It wasn't just to rape the kid. That was just too easy. Supposedly she's a witch. The contractor wanted her to loose control so that she would be hunted. Odd request since she **is** a hunter, but who am I to say when the money's good. "

Amon nodded. _'Suspicion confirmed.' _

"As I said, Kita was far too impatient and didn't do his research. With his approach, he'd scare her, but not truly terrorize her . Even after hiring Matsouka and I, he wouldn't listen to our suggestions on how to attack the girl. It all went down too fast for her to use her powers out of fear. Hell, he didn't even bother to find out what her power was, though I don't think that he ever believed in witches." Maki glanced disgustedly at the dead man on the ground next to him. "What is her power, anyway?" he added as an afterthought, turning his head slightly to look at the older man.

"Fire."

"Damn. Too bad she didn't use it, she could have burnt him to a nice crisp so that I wouldn't have had to waste a bullet on him."

The two men watched each other silently for a while, neither moving to start anything. Finally Maki broke it.

"So, what do you say that you and I meet another day so I can get rid of this carcass. Doubt that you would want to clean up someone else's mess." Haru smirked at that. Amon gave a slight nod. "So, do you want to meet again, or shall we stalk one another?"

The dark hunter shrugged indifferently.

———

Amon sat in his darkened living room, feet propped up on the window sill, staring out into the darkness. He had a bourbon in one hand that he occasionally thought to drink, but mostly he just absentmindedly swirled the contents of the glass. The meeting had proven interesting. Maki had been talkative and had provided Amon almost all of the information that he wanted but hadn't gotten a direct answer to yet. Not to mention that the youth had actually killed Kita, and without much provocation. It was, to say the least, an interesting turn of events.

The two men never mentioned meeting again, so Amon presumed they would hunt each other. He had no illusions that the hunt would be easy, especially since the prey knew that it was being hunted. He also realized that the hunter could easily become the hunted in this fight. He almost relished the challenge.

———

"Woah!" Michael breathed in excitement as he glanced through the news of the day.

"What?" Sakaki sounded intrigued as he moved his chair closer to the IT guy to see what he was looking at on the computer monitor.

"Look at this," the young hacker continued, pointing to an article. "Says here that a Yoshi Kita was found dead in the warehouse district. Police aren't releasing the details yet, but they are saying that he was shot once in the head."

"Isn't that one of the guys we were going after for Robin?" The brown haired hunter seemed suspicious of the statement.

"Yeah. This other article looks to give a bit more information. It says that sources indicated that there was a piece of paper with a stylized tiger drawn on it with the corpse. Supposedly that's something that the gangs do to mark their kills."

"Interesting that they would kill one of their own," Amon interjected emotionlessly.

"You think it was his own gang?" Now Doujima was getting interested in the topic.

The lead hunter nodded his head before explaining it to the rest of the team. "The Toratsume have been known to use drawings of tigers for various things, including marking their kills. No one not associated with them would leave a tiger, though, for fear of being hunted and killed themselves."

"Amon," Sakaki started hesitantly. "How do you know so much about this?" The younger hunter wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer, but curiosity got the better of him.

"You didn't find out any of that when you and Karasuma were supposed to be looking into the gang?" was the elder hunter's reply, not really answering the question, but insinuating that maybe Sakaki hadn't done his job.

* * *

definitions:

Toratsume – tiger's claw

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A/N: Hope you are enjoying this! Please let me know. Critiques and comments are appreciated. 


	14. Chapter 14

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own WHR in any form other than my copy of the DVDs.

* * *

He was being followed. He could feel the presence of the man and had glimpsed him stalking in the shadows a few times. Amon pretended not to notice the dark figure following, knowing that Maki was now on the hunt and he was the prey. He knew he could change the tables at any point, but so far the shadow didn't have a gun out. Instinct told him that the man wasn't interested in an execution, but in a fight. 

Amon turned down an alley, then slipped into the shadows before his stalker was able to follow. Maki stood in the narrow corridor for a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Before he could react, he felt the barrel of a gun at his temple. Taking a deep breath, he quickly moved to knock the gun from Amon's hand, not knowing that the witch hunter didn't have the gun loaded and had no intention of shooting him – at least not yet.

The two men glared at each other, both knowing that the fight was going to take place right there. The spiky haired man grew tired of waiting and struck first, or at least tried to. The longer haired man easily blocked the punch, then the ensuing kick. The two were relatively evenly matched, though Amon had strength and breadth of fighting styles going for him, allowing him to slip into several different fighting modes as they suited his needs. It took moments for the two dark men to realize that this was going to be a long fight.

———

Amon knocked on the door. He had watched the apartment from the roof of the building across the street, waiting until Touko had left. He hadn't wanted to have to deal with her this morning. The dark hunter likely looked like hell and he knew that she would try to mother him.

"Who is it?" came the tentative voice of his partner, though she sounded more confident than she had in some time.

"Me," was the gruff reply.

Presently, the door opened slightly to show Robin peering around it. She gasped when she saw Amon standing there and threw the door open.

"What happened?" The young woman could barely contain her worry as she looked upon her partner and dragged him into her home.

The man before her was rather scuffed up. He had a few scrapes on his face, one particularly nasty looking one was still trying to bleed. His shirt was torn, as were his pants. He was covered in dirt and didn't look like he had slept. Without waiting for his response, she pushed him onto the couch and rushed to get the first aid kit and a clean rag.

Robin kneeled on the floor in front of her tattered partner and started cleaning the cut along his cheek, repeating her question.

"It's over."

Robin cocked her to one side, looking up at him in confusion. The normally impassive man's features softened as he watched her. Almost affectionately, he leaned towards her to gently push a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"It's over," he repeated. He didn't want to have to say more than that, but he could tell by the continued confusion in her eyes that he would have to. "The people who hurt you have been taken care of. They'll never bother you again."

Amon leaned back on the couch to watch her reaction as it moved from confusion to worry to something akin to relief. Then her look changed again as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You didn't..." She paused in her accusation, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Amon could see the question in her eyes, but he wasn't going to respond. He wasn't sure he would even if she did verbalize it.

Deciding she didn't want to know what exactly her partner had done, Robin jumped at him, embracing him in a fierce hug. He was surprised at first, then started becoming concerned when he felt her start to cry as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you, Amon. Thank you," she breathed into his ear, the relief evident in her voice.

———

"Hey Robin. Amon," Michael greeted the pair while stifling a yawn. He glanced up briefly before he resumed his typing. "Amon, the boss wants to see you," he added as an afterthought, having almost forgotten the boss's demand.

The eldest hunter merely turned on his heel, changing direction to head up to Zaizen's office. The administrator had been gone all week, so it wasn't surprising that the man wanted to speak to him immediately.

The lead hunter strode purposefully into the office. Zaizen was looking out the window and smoking a cigar, giving no indication that he was aware of Amon's presence. Silently the younger man took his position in front of the graying man's overly large desk. With his hands loosely grasped behind his back, he stood tall and stared at the back of his boss's chair, waiting patiently. It was obvious that Zaizen was unhappy about something. He took several minutes to finish his cigar before he turned and acknowledged his best hunter.

"So, what have you been up to while I was away?" The administrator's voice was tinged with anger. It was obvious to Amon that he was attempting to hide it but without much success.

"We captured two witches. One required a brief stake-out, which was handled by Karasuma and Sakaki. The other was a relatively easy capture. Full reports have been filed, sir," the hunter dispassionately reported.

Zaizen nodded slightly. "What else? It looks like there was a lot of activity going on while I was away. Kosaka especially seems to have been busy. I would presume that he was running interference between the police and ourselves?"

The reserved man merely shrugged. Considering the administrator's obvious disapproval of the team becoming involved in the search for Robin's attackers, Amon hadn't been able to employ the normal means of removing bodies. Kosaka, however, seemed to be on the side of the rest of the STN-J and was more than happy to handle the aftermath of his hunts the past week. He didn't envy the man the strings he likely had to pull to convince the police that the deaths of the five men weren't worth following up on. He waited for his boss to continue. He wasn't going to give away information without a more specific request.

Zaizen narrowed his eyes briefly before changing topics slightly. "And how's Robin doing?"

"Much better."

"That's good to hear. It would be a shame to loose her because of something so trivial."

There it was. Amon had wondered how long it would take Zaizen to get around to bringing up his partner. The hunter was sure it was more to see his reaction since the administrator had, on several occasions, lectured him on letting the his emotions get involved with the girl. Amon could feel his anger rise at hearing the other man call Robin's rape 'trivial', but he knew nothing in his face or stance would give the emotion away.

"Do you know where the police are regarding her case?" Zaizen was getting impatient with Amon's terse answers and it showed clearly in his eyes if not his voice. Amon was being even more succinct than usual with his replies. Normally he would tell the administrator full details regarding whatever was asked. After talking to Kato earlier in the week, though, dark man knew he could no longer trust his boss.

"I believe they are closing her case."

Zaizen nodded his head, a small menacing smirk touched his lips. He dismissed the stoic man and turned to look out the window again, his thoughts turning to the young witch downstairs.

———

Michael looked up when he heard Amon coming down the stairs, noting that the hunter's mood didn't seem to have changed while talking to their boss. He turned back to his computer to resume working. A sudden look of interest crossed the young geek's face as he started opening more windows and typing faster. Finally after several minutes, he let out a low whistle.

"Hmm?" The sound came from Amon, who was now at his workstation. It was difficult to determine if he was actually interested, or if he was just responding.

"Take a look at this," the teen stated, his words tinged with something between surprise and awe.

"What? What what are we looking at?" Doujima exclaimed as she walked into the office and headed straight for Michael's workstation.

"There are a few articles in the paper today about Maki and Matsouka. It seems that both men were found dead near the Walled City. Since they were both found with a picture of a dragon, the police believe that it's part of the rise in gang activity over there and aren't planning on investigating."

"Wow. Looks like everyone who's had something to do with Robin's case has had some bad luck lately," Sakaki stated, pointedly looking at Amon.

The lead hunter took a quick look at his partner to find her shyly gazing back at him, wondering what he would say. "Looks like it. Guess that means the case is closed," he said with a small smirk that only Robin might have noticed before turning back to his work.

* * *

A/N: Wow! 14 Chapters. I can't believe it's done! I'm kind of sad, actually, but I'm excited too. Thanks to all of you who have read this. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks especially to those who provided useful comments that helped to make this a better story. Please, R&R. I plan on writing more and the feedback is always helpful in making other stories as well as this one. 


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